Stimulus
by twobagelscollide
Summary: Everyone can't be that motivated, diligent, moral compass of a trainer that would typically envision receiving their first pokemon. 'Creative' problem solver Cole Volechek begins his tumultuous journey which forces him to adapt to a completely foreign lifestyle.


**Allow me to introduce, Stimulus. I have been thinking about this for a very long time and only recently put it into the works. Its original concept was developed a long time ago, by Rio and I in a sudden impulse that i didn't really think would go anywhere. Slow start would be the description I would give at least the first chapter considering its all ****exposition, I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing though, it IS only chapter 1 after all.**

* * *

"Cole we are moving soon so start packing" Cole's mom, Julia commanded while standing in the doorway of her son's messy room. Clothes took up most of the space on the floor by the closet as the preteen had been sorting through the bulk of his belongings and deciding what to keep. She gave him a you-better-get-started look and walked away obviously annoyed.

Cole, a lazy, nerdy 12 year old who was lying on his bed with his shiny, navy blue laptop resting on his lap, let his eyes wander his room. It wasn't that unorganized in his eyes but it was obvious what needed to be done and that would be a lot of work... that he didn't feel like doing right now, _'I can do it later' _he thought.

Cole and his family, which consists of him, his mom and his dad, are moving in about week. The depressed Cole wandered over to his bed which was the only organized area of his room at the moment. It was unfair, to have to move to an entirely new region right when he was about to start his Pokémon journey. Technically Cole was eligible for his Pokémon license 2 years ago but he decided to wait a little bit and gain some more intelligence before setting off into the world alone, but now he had to move to Sinnoh and he wished he would have done something sooner.

In the other room he heard his mom getting her bedroom in order, making various bangs and creaking on the floor. Every time she approached his door, Cole got anxious about not cleaning after he was told to, but eventually concluded his mother would not be coming back for a while. With a huff he closed his Laptop and started to bring order to the various piles of unsorted belongings.

The blinds on the window were only half open which allowed independent streaks of light to stretch across an otherwise dim room. There was a Television that sat atop a small black entertainment center, cluttered with wires, devices and recently abandoned video game systems. The miraculous cerulean-sheeted bed was the only thing that appeared properly taken care of, with it being folded perfectly, and lining the bed with precision.

After a burst of drive that lasted for about five minutes that consisted of highly motivated cleaning, Cole sat back down to take a procrastination break. Thinking extensively about everything that he would leave behind revealed to Cole that he wanted to do something meaningful before he had to leave this place for good, and he couldn't stand being in the house right now. Moving carefully through his door and out into the hallway Cole announced "Mom, uh, can I go outside for a little bit?" his Mom rolled her eyes and sighed "fine but I expect your room done in the next few days so delaying it will only be more trouble for you in the future"

That answer was good enough, and with a simple "Okay" Cole grabbed his pair keys to the house and started his way downstairs. Stopping for a few seconds to look at the barren remains of the first floor, for it was now devoid of any signs that someone had lived their entire lives here. The walls had been painted white earlier in the week and there was a dulled smell of paint lingering in the air.

Since they now officially owned their new home in Sinnoh, Cole's father had already taken all of the furniture, keepsakes and heavy belongings from the downstairs area, and basement to Sinnoh in advance to lighten the load. We are supposed to meet him over there and bring over all of the leftover personal stuff from upstairs. It was convenient for everyone but disappointing that Dad couldn't be there when they would have to say goodbye for good.

Breaking his self-induced trance, Cole calmly walked out the front door and locked it behind him. Lilycove city's beautiful oceanscape filled the view around him with the high tide waves clearly visible in the distant background. Although paved flat for housing there were multiple levels of homes that essentially sat on a hill, and Cole's house was on the highest section, able to overlook the entire city. However his house was the second closest to the forest so it almost felt like the place wasn't part of the city at all. Cole peacefully turned and started ambling toward the forest in his black T-shirt and Jeans

After travelling for an short yet indiscernible amount of time deep in random thoughts, he reached the area that his old secret base resides in. His mom and dad had helped hollow out a large tree for him to call his very own when he was a little kid. Hiding valuables and sentimental items like plush dolls consumed an entire summer of his childhood life, but when territorial wild Pokémon began to frequent the area it became too dangerous to continue regular visits. "I wonder if the old tree is still standing?" Cole mumbled to himself out loud.

Cole knew his Dad had previously reclaimed everything from the tree a while back, but he wanted something different. Once when he was out younger and feeling invincible, Cole climbed the weak branches of the tree and sat atop the tall structure for a glorious few minutes. From the top of the tree there was beautiful view of mount Pyre that peaked right over the tree line. From that vantage point you could the increasingly thick veil of smoke that climbed the semi-active mountain. When trying to get down he almost slipping out of the tree, which would have seriously injured him, and he was never daring enough try again… that is, until now.

The decrepit looking bark made Cole a little nervous to attempt the excursion, also the tree had seemingly grown a little bit and the low branch from before had inched higher up the bark. With a quick over the shoulder glance checking for any of these wild Pokémon he remembered hearing about, he reached up and grabbed the first branch.

Climbing the tree was easier now obviously because of how much Cole had grown from when he was 7 or 8 years old. Making his way to the top of the tree took no longer than five minutes, when previously it was the product of about a half hour of determination. Once perched near the top, the increased height revealed more of mount Pyre then before. Everything looked the same, almost identical to how it appeared to him that long time ago... but he didn't get to stare for too long.

The eerie creaking sounds that were once almost inaudible became louder quite fast, and started occurring more frequently than before. A loud snap startled Cole and alerted him to foolishness of his decision.

Cole held on fruitlessly to the branch under him that was connected directly into the slanted bright green moss of the hollowed tree. Panic had, up until now, held back the frightened voice of the 12 year old. However with a ear-piercing scream Cole fell in full contact with the weakened hollowed trunk of the tree, breaking all the way through to the dilapidated insides of his secret base from what would have been his ceiling. Large chunks of wood that were unable to support the sudden change in weight, rained down alongside him and accompanied an echoing thud.

His head hit violently against the slightly squishy wood but not before the rest of him, barely holding onto consciousness as he lay motionless on the partially empty wooden floor of the tree.

After a few moments of uneasy silence a muffled voice grunted lowly making itself present. Cole groggily realized what happened and gathered the strength to roll off of his animal cushion. feeling absolutely horrible about falling on top off whoever was under him. Blinking a few times cleared his vision enough t make him fully aware and now full of adrenaline. Cole hopped away from the presumably angry Pokémon and cringed, a Vulpix that apparently had made this secret base its den was sprawled on the floor groaning in pain.

Cole cautiously knelt down and tried to examine its wounds in the dim light streaming through the new skylight. He lifted each leg without much change in response and poked carefully in various places to test for extensive damage. The Vulpix winced a few times so Cole knew there was some damage, but it didn't look like anything was broken. Suddenly filled with vitality Cole sprinted out of the entrance yelling "I'll be right back" jetting heading toward Lilycove, caring little for his own possible concussion.

The trees rocked uncharacteristically in place as the shock waves from running agitated the boy's head trauma. Nevertheless he kept on running, easily reaching the outer edge of the forest without much time passing at all.

Originally Cole's plan was to run to the Pokémon center but he realized that he might get in trouble for going out there alone and injuring a Pokémon, so he selfishly changed his trajectory from the Pokémon center to his house. Since he nearly burst into it he attempted unsuccessfully to adopt a casual attitude as his Mom stared at him in confusion from the bottom of the steps, wondering why her son was panting so hard.

He smiled awkwardly as he inhaled deeply trying hard not to breathe like he had just fallen out of a tree "um I just came back to get something" Cole sputtered quickly and started forward, brushing past his mom.

Julia scrunched her forehead in confusion "something for what?" she was holding cleaning supplies presumably to give the house a once over, mostly for dust buildup.

Without the brainpower to creatively lie Cole tried to dismiss the topic "Just something for something" Leaving no room for the curious woman to respond as he ran upstairs. Julia was confused and suspicious but her son had never been a bad kid _'surely it's nothing I have to worry about if he's not telling me' _Julia thought. She went back to cleaning the floors with a sponge-like mop.

Cole slinked into his mother's packed up room and opened her bedside drawer. Opening a small, steel grey, stylized container and pulling out the plain red and white pokeball containing her beloved Absol and some of the emergency healing supplies stashed next to it. Making sure to leave little evidence that he was in there, the preteen gingerly stepped out of room. Without a word to his mom who had moved out of the trajectory between Cole and the door, he ran back outside through the front not stopping to lock it just to be sure his mom didn't notice what he was carrying.

Using the last of his energy, in order to sprint back to his secret base he began to feel lightheaded and woozy. Unwillingly he stopped, and propping himself up against the closest tree until the unpleasant feelings passed. The bark was scratchy an unwelcoming of the visitor as it seemed to move out of the way, in order to make Cole fall. The boy spun himself around dramatically on one foot and reduced his plummet to a stop with a large portion of upper body strength he typically did not possess.

After blinking away the remaining bits of head trauma induced nausea he picked himself up and proceeded toward the familiar tree carrying the potions and bandages in hand along with Absol clipped on his belt.

He peeked inside the newly lit hideout finding the Vulpix from before was as far away from the door as you could possibly get, curled up tightly on itself. The place now looked trashed, wooden litter scattered across the floor accompanying an ugly hole in the ceiling that threatened to cave in more with the slightest provocation, it made him feel horrible.

When Cole made a cautious step into the base, the Vulpix's ears perked up and the Pokémon sprung to its feet in a lopsided fighting pose. Cole, now on guard, tactfully and apologetically spoke "I'm sorry for falling on you" he lifted the supplies in hand up to make sure the creature noticed "I just went to get some medicine to help you" The Vulpix seemed unfazed by the reasoning put forth, retaining its stance.

Cole waited a moment, then tried to get closer, Vulpix immediately countered the movement by dribbling embers off of the side of its jaw. _If I can't get closer maybe Absol can. _Cole unclipped the Pokeball from his belt and at the sight of this the Vulpix gradually stopped trying to be intimidating.

Cole raised an eyebrow sensing this was a good spot to reintroduce his benevolent intentions "I just want to help you, mostly because it's my fault, but I'll would have helped you anyway" The Vulpix lowered its guard and turned away lying back down to signify it was fine to move closer. Cole smiled as he worked his way across the floor making sure not to travel too fast, he didn't want to turn this into a fight for self defense and be forced to bring Absol into this.

The wary human carefully knelt down beside the previously hostile beast and sprayed a potion of unknown potency on the places where he remembered it winced before. The Pokémon bit its lip when the uncomfortable ointment was applied but lit up in relief and happiness when the process revealed itself to be in her best interest. Reassuring the continuation of the process by licking the human's face, caused Cole let himself laugh a little "I wish people could be that forgiving" he said to Vulpix in the lightened tension.

The Pokémon exclaimed its name in happiness and Cole got a slightly selfish idea. "Hey you're all alone here right? How about you come along with me? As you can see" He flashed the pokeball containing Absol one more time "I'm a Pokémon trainer, well at least I will be soon" Having a pokemon from this region and bringing it to another would give him a huge advantage, but besides that selfish point, Cole would be able to better help this pokemon heal if he brought it with him.

Vulpix stared at him blankly with its large shimmering eyes and backed away from him shaking its head. Cole suddenly got the urge to battle it and catch it like he had seen on TV and in games countless times, but he knew that would be wrong of him to take it by force like that, especially when part of that force was a surprise, unintentionally body slam from the sky. "Any chance you'll change your mind?" There was no movement from the previously happy Vulpix and Cole took that as his cue to leave.

Sullenly exiting the secret base and heading home, he once more contemplated bringing Absol out for company, but decided against it so his mom would have less of a chance to figure out what he was doing out here. Little did Cole know, he did have company, keeping him within visual range but never getting too close. The onlooker hid its lithe red-orange body carefully behind bushes and tree trunks stalking him from a distance but Cole didn't look back anyway.

Cole tried shaking off his disappointment, and decided that it would be best to go in his back door. As Cole got closer he saw that his mom was out front preparing the garden so it will look nice for the buyers, it was the perfect situation for him to get in without being seen.

The Vulpix hesitated at the edge of the woods, but then ran up to about a foot behind the boy silently padding behind the human until they got to the back door of the human's house. As Cole inserted his key and swung open the door the Pokémon sprinted inside almost causing a ruckus, from the unsuspected visitor.

Cole just ignored it because his brain was obviously playing tricks on him. However when he locked the door and turned back around the Vulpix was staring at him expectantly, and he recoiled in terrified joy. "My mom can't see you in here!" He yelled then scooped up the small Pokémon and bounded upstairs immediately slamming and locking his door.

He placed the confused Pokémon on the floor of his room and thought strategically about what would happen next. He took a few deep breaths then a light bulb went off in the young boys mind

Cole began to talk at the red-orange fox "you followed me home? So you _do _want to come with me... Awesome! Ok, you just wait in here, and I'll be right back" Cole ran out of the door to his room stopped halfway down the hallway came back and closed the door leaving the bewildered fox Pokémon confused in the middle of a messy unfamiliar room.

He rushed back into his mom's room placed the pokeball containing Absol back into the drawer. Then he ran downstairs, wrapped the empty potion bottle in paper towels and threw it into the trash. On his way upstairs he thought of the other thing that he would definitely need right away… an empty pokeball.

His mom or dad wouldn't have any lying around because they are both retired trainers, he would have to get one from the department store that wasn't far from his house. Bursting back into his room he saw the tiny fox investigating the laptop on top of the bed. Cole's mind spun at the possibilities at hand but he needed a Pokeball for any of them to be possible, that and no one can find out about the Vulpix.

It was too risky to leave him…her? Her, definitely a her. He needed a way to keep Vulpix a secret and he could easily do that if he had a pokeball, but leaving her in the house with his mom was not a good idea. Cole stared at the creature who was now staring back at him "Now you want to be my Pokémon right?" The Vulpix eagerly nodded

Cole stared straight at her until he was sure he had her undivided attention "Alright so can you wait at the edge of the woods for a few minutes? I'll have to go get a Pokeball for you to travel with me" without waiting for a response Cole signaled a 'follow me' but 'be quiet' gesture opening his door and sneaking over to the top of the staircase, he scanned for his mom. After seeing the top of her hair through the window leaded too the front yard Cole knew it was safe and started tearing down to the first floor, followed closely by Vulpix who descended awkwardly down the unfamiliar contraption known as stairs.

The edge of the forest was in sight as soon as they exited the house which the human pointed to "ok now go over there and wait, I'll be right back" the confused Vulpix looked at him strangely and just sat there as her soon-to-be trainer sprinted around the edge of the house and out of sight. She pawed at the backdoor, it was unlocked but the mechanism the held it in place was not budging so just like the boy said she wandered off to wait by the treeline.

The wind rushed by the 12 year-old's face as he made excellent time traversing the lengthy distance to the department store. The only thought in his mind being _'it's a wild Pokémon that has only known you for an hour or so, if you don't hurry it will leave'_ almost running into the sliding glass doors as they didn't have much time to open before he barged in. Cole quickly remembered that he was in a store at the sight of the smooth floors and decorated interior. He composed himself but was still headed straight for the entrances to the upper floors of the store.

Cole didn't bother with the elevator and jumped two steps at a time up the stairs to the next floor.

The tall man manning the register recognized the face of the young boy making a b-line toward his counter. "Hey Cole what brings you here? Aren't you moving soon?"

The normal temptation items spread beneath the counter, were just as visible through the neatly cleaned glass. But they all seemed worthless to him at the moment, _think of a clever lie, think of a clever lie, think of a clever lie _Cole scrambled his brain and almost paused beyond the point of too much hesitation before blurting out "hey Carl, my mom sent me over here to get some Pokeballs, I know I have until I get to Sinnoh to prepare for becoming a trainer but it never hurts to be prepared"

The cashier thought nothing of it and jovially said "I like your attitude! I think you'll be a great trainer Cole, you better be considering your 11 now. how many do you want?"

"Just one" Cole casually stated confident in his lie, and completely missing the beat about the family acquaintance getting his age wrong.

"One? That's not all the Pokémon you plan on getting is it? You do know you'll need more than that, how about 3 to start off?" the man suggested

Cole suddenly felt under pressure and time constraint, feeling like this conversation was taking years to complete "you're right" Cole tried to visualize the small amount of money that he had stored in his wallet "three it is, that should be good enough" desperate to dismiss the situation

The cashier leaned down, and emerged with three shrunken Pokeballs. Cole handed the money across the counter and scooped the three balls into his jean pocket "Thanks Carl!" Cole yelled, already on his way to the steps, the man smiled and turned his attention to the next person in line that the young boy had almost run over.

Since he was conspicuously sprinting across the sidewalk, Julia caught her son's form approaching from the distance at high speeds. They made eye contact and Cole knew he had to further adapt to the scenario, changing his destination from outback to the front of the house, in order to deter his mothers suspicions.

"Why are you running Cole?" Julia asked curiously, stopping her son from entering the house with her stern accusatory tone. Cole shifted his eyes back between the house and his mom "I really have to go to the bathroom" he dodged around his mom's gardening tool and pushed open the wooden door heading straight to the back of the house not even making an attempt to fake going to the bathroom.

Peering across the vast foliage that outlined the forest he saw a still red-orange anomaly among the green and brown composition, heading there to greet his new friend. When he stopped in front of the patient creature he was horribly out of breath and had an intense headache, he pulled out one of the balls from his pocket and showed it to the Pokémon. "See… I… got it, right... here" he heaved, surprised at how out of breath he felt. As he Clicked the sole button on the ball he felt it expand in his hand that he outstretched toward the Pokémon.

Something was wrong though, as if out of nowhere there were three Vulpix, each with their head worriedly tilted in his direction. Wooziness returned to him and a dizzy spell played with the orientation of the world around him.

Suddenly his legs gave out from under him, the spinning world turned on its side. Everything faded slowly to black...

* * *

The Vulpix stared worriedly at what she thought would be her trainer. Her brother was always talking about how amazing it would be to have a human trainer.

one day while she was hiding in their home, the tree that they had been born into. On what was seemingly a normal day she awoke alone even though she had fallen asleep huddled against her brother, like she would have any other night. the sudden noise of human language being spoken right outside put her instantly into defense mode as she sprinted outside to gauge the threat. The fox emerged just in time to see her brother get transformed into a red beam of transparent light getting sucked into a small red and white ball.

In a thoughtless panic she attacked the human spitting angry fireball at him in a frantic illogical reaction. a strange green Pokémon with a flat bowl-like leaf on its head leaped out from behind the human and doused her attack, using another stronger stream of water to soak her into submission. The human looked back and forth between her and the ball that contained his newly obtained Vulpix. The female trainer gave an understanding head nod and ordered "Lotad" to stand down, subsequently letting the captured Vulpix back out into the world.

Bun bounced over to his sister "Oh sis I didn't mean to wake you up, but I did almost forgot to say goodbye. I like this human… and she happens to be a trainer" Amber knew where this was going and what her brother was implying, Bun talked about it all the time, ever since Dad left on his journey. Amber started to tear up "oh…ok. bye… have fun" the usually calm and even tempered Pokémon began to cry and the human watching the scene donned a appropriate guilty expression.

The unnamed female trainer winced at the sad scene as two Vulpix that apparently knew each other on some deep level nuzzled up against each other and said what looked obviously like forced and upset goodbyes before the wild one ran back into the grotto. She knelt down to her newly acquired Vulpix and patted him soothingly on the head wanting to make incredibly sure he made the right decision "are you sure you want to leave?"

The male Vulpix sighed and sullenly nodded. At the same time as gesturing to toward his pokeball. The girl mercifully returned him and wandered over to the opening in the hollowed out tree, Amber glanced up to make eye contact with the human. She couldn't help feeling abandoned even though she knew it's what her brother always wanted. The truth was right in the center of her eyes that human was responsible for her being alone now.

The trainer smiled as genuinely as possible despite the emotions of the scene "Don't worry I will make sure to take good care of him, I promise!" Amber lowered her head and cried a little heavier with the revitalized acceptance that her brother she knew for her entire life was most likely never coming back.

The humans positive posture fell limp when the creature continued crying, and she slowly exited the tree unable to bear the situation any longer deciding that leaving now help them all out the most. The female Vulpix listened as the crunch of grass grew more and more diminished, and when she couldn't hear it any more she jumped up suddenly trying to get a final glimpse of the trainer girl... there was only trees

* * *

Amber snapped out of her flashback and reestablished the reality around her. There was a human lying face first on the ground, with an outstretched hand holding a Pokeball just like the one her brother was put into. Suddenly the reality hit her, that her possible new master was hurt or in trouble, so she bit on the cuff of his pant leg and started dragging him away into the forest toward the only place she could call home.

Taking several breaks along the way the tiny creature was making slow progress toward her goal. She never had a test of endurance this grueling in her entire life and she was growing worried as the human never felt like anything more than a limp sack of dead weight.

She wasn't sure if pulling him all that way made it worse but a final heave brought him through the entrance, and over the lip of the secret base. After carefully propping him up the best she could against a wall, she left to gather nearby berries that she was taught to eat whenever she got hurt or sick. Without a device to carry them she could only bite off and bring back one plump blue berry at a time.

Over time she created a decent pile right next to the boy and started to try and shove some in the human's unconscious mouth with no positive results. Finally deciding to curl up onto his lap and wait for him to wake up. Soothed by serene rise and fall of the humans chest she was peacefully rocked to sleep.

* * *

Cole slowly opened his eyes expecting to be in his bed and under his blanket, with his mom standing over him telling to get up and clean his room. Instead his eyes met with the brown shimmer of a familiar Pokémon's eyes, who was sitting curled up on his chest. Jolting all the way awake from the surprise Cole tried to get up, the Vulpix sprang immediately into action jumping down on his shoulders with her front paws effectively pinning him, and trying to send the message that he shouldn't get up.

Cole stared in confusion as he tried to piece together the fragments of his most recent memories. He had gotten Pokeballs from the department store, ran home, bolted through the house, Vulpix was in the distance aaaand… nothing. He must've passed out or have been knocked out somewhere along the way _'but how did I get back here again?' _

He paused for a moment and relaxed back down on the wooden floor to which the fox Pokémon responded by carefully picking up a Oran berry in her jaw and shoving unexpectedly it into his mouth. Cole nearly choked on the morsel but nonetheless chewed and swallowed letting out a small exhale in the form of a light cough before another one was pushed into his mouth.

He spit it out holding up his hand in protest of the force-feeding "It's ok, I'm fine, thank you. but I can eat on my own." He paused watching the complying creature "Are you the one who brought me here?" Cole took a small bite out of the Oran berry, it tasted vague nothing really stood out about it but it wasn't a bad treat, he wondered why the pokemon was insistent on having him eat them.

The creature nodded in response to the question and the piqued Cole's interest"That's so… Awesome!" Cole exclaimed and lunged forward catching the Vulpix in a surprise hug "Thank you so much! I didn't think wild Pokémon could be this smart!"

Cole reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the two Pokeballs he bought… wait… two? That doesn't sound right… no… He bought three!_ 'Where's the third one?' _The memory of passing out reentered his mind.

He was in the middle of inviting the Vulpix to join him and the he fell forward with the ball, it no longer rested in his hand.

"Oh well I only needed one in the first place," Cole muttered to himself as he enlarged a second ball. "How about it, are you still ready to officially become my Pokémon?" The Vulpix sprang toward then ball and tapped her head against the button, causing the ball to pop open and the creature to turn into red light. Cole didn't move a muscle as the red and white ball wobbled softly in his palm, when it made an echoing click his face lit up with joy.

"This is so awesome! I can't believe I got a Vulpix before I have even officially become a trainer. Here come on back out!" standing up shakily, Cole tossed the ball in the air created a red beam that shot to the floor reforming into his new friend. "Ok first things first… how about a nickname? Calling you Vulpix all the time just seems silly to me"

Amber hadn't thought about this, a new name? Doesn't the human somehow know that she already has one that isn't Vulpix? She doesn't speak human so there would be no way to tell him directly.

Cole scoured his mind to remember the local information on Vulpix from the few people that have went to Mount Pyre in order to reach a nickname conclusion. But on the way he arrived at a question "Hey, you are a Vulpix? Aren't you supposed to be found around Mt. pyre? This place is a long way from there"

Vulpix had heard that name once or twice before from wandering pokemon outside of the den however she was still was confused, she had never known a home other than this one but come to think of it outside of her family she has never seen another Vulpix or Ninetales. She titled her head to side briefly and eventually replied with a shake of her head.

"I-I have no idea what 'no' is supposed to mean… But anyway you're a fire type, your known for your tails, you're a fox Pokémon, and we met by me falling through what I think is your house and landing on you. Somewhere in there is a really cool nickname but I guess we can I figure that out later." just then, Cole noticed something; it was significantly darker outside than when he woke up. He could tell by the still fresh hole in the ceiling.

The realization suddenly hit Cole that the sun was setting… which means he has been out cold for hours! '_If I don't get home fast I'll be in so much trouble _"Come on! We have to get back to my house before dark!" Cole stood wobbly for a few seconds, but after a short self-examination he concluded he was okay enough to at least jog.

Cole along with his new agile companion started at mild pace but as the shadows quickly stretched along the ground, they both flew through the forest, dodging trees, and other obstacles of the forest variety. Some small Pokémon got in the way before they reached the path that they had both taken to reach the grotto but Vulpix held a convenient ball of fire in front of them lighting the now darker section of forest and intimidating the nighttime bugs and predators of the area.

After bursting out of the tree line Cole stopped for a second in the minimal lighting just in time to pick up the pokeball from before he passed out. He cursed himself silently for forgetting that he was not legally supposed to have any Pokémon yet, especially one that he himself caught from the wild. So he turned to Vulpix and pulled out her pokeball "I just need to put you in here really quick so my mom doesn't find out, sorry" Without waiting for a response Cole pointed the front of the ball at the fox Pokémon and sucked her inside. The ball of fire instantly dissipated.

After only squinting a little bit he realized there was some flashing red and blue lights out front of his house _crap_. Cole now knew he would have to come up with some excuse and a brilliant thought came to his mind because someone on TV said it before _there is no better lie, than a half truth_

He slowly made his way around the corner and his Mom rushed to hug him when she wrapped her arms around him she cried in relief. "Geez mom I was only gone for a few hours you didn't have to call officer Jenny" he glanced over at the skeptical face of the aforementioned officer.

She had a confused look on her face "kid, do know that you were gone for over 24 hours?" the police woman needlessly motioned to the watch on her wrist.

Cole froze _'had he really passed out for that long?' _after a long awkward stare from both women Cole quickly re-assembled his alibi "I had gone to my old secret base to say goodbye… you know, metaphorically, and I climbed to the top of the hollow tree to see Mt. Pyre one last time. But when I got up there the tree couldn't support my weight and I fell… then I woke up on the floor of the base and saw the sky getting darker and I assumed I was just a few hours later and ran home" Cole tried to make himself believe his words were wholly true at the same time as speaking them to keep the attention off of the obvious contents of his now rounded pockets.

"Cole! What made you think it was a good idea to climb that old tree in the first place?" Julia exclaimed with a mixture of astonishment and anger.

Cole decided it was best not to answer this question in any way and Officer Jenny interrupted "Well looks like you don't need me anymore, I'm glad things worked themselves out" With that she hopped on her trademark motorcycle and sped off. Julia sighed "me too, now you still need to get your room ready and you have a lot less time now" she said in a motherly tone of voice

When Cole walked inside he was surprised for the second time in five minutes. Mark, his best friend, was sitting there watching TV and looked over with a ridiculously large smile on his face "so where have you been?"

"Unconscious in tree." Cole replied wittily without missing a beat "Why are you here?"

Mark got up and took his hands out of his pockets "just waiting for the conclusion on where my friend went. I know you're moving in a few days but that's the last time I want to see you, not on the news because you went missing."

I chuckled a little "don't be so dramatic, I will keep in contact with you as much as I can from over there, but I'm still going to become a Pokémon trainer so don't feel bad if I don't call for a while." When he spoke the words Pokémon trainer Cole shifted his hand uneasily to his right pocket.

Julia joined the heartfelt exchange "you had better call me as much as possible. And try not to do anything as stupid as climbing a tree alone in the middle of the woods"

Cole scoffed sarcastically "I'm not leaving right now guys, geez you sound like you're saying goodbye to me right here"

Julia changed her tone to joking as well "yup you're right, I want you gone as soon as possible"

Mark chuckled and started on his escape "Ok I'll stop by tomorrow, see ya" he exited the door with a wave. The brief exchange with his long term friend immediately quelled the negative atmosphere that had developed. Cole looked at his Mom who seemed to be in deep thought and started upstairs eager to explain the situation to his new Pokémon, _'speaking of Vulpix… she needs a nickname, I can do that first' _

Julia quickly added something just before Cole closed his door "Don't fall asleep! you might have a concussion!"

Cole absentmindedly yelled down "Ok, I won't!" and closed his door. Immediately pulling out the pokeball, and admiring his secret triumph in the dim moonlight. He had successfully left out any mention of catching a Pokémon which was risky considering officer Jenny was there, but his alibi was perfect and the only one who could tell them otherwise was the Pokémon in his hand who had actually saved him from being discovered by dragging him all the way to that place in the woods. He owed her a heck of a lot right now.

Cole sauntered over to his desk, turned on his nearby lamp and grabbed a loose pen as well as piece of paper, ripping it in a bunch of unequal pieces. The boy turned on his desk lamp and began scribbling on the many pieces. Various creative, pun based names were being written in a fervent brainstorm until there was a satisfying amount scattered on the desk.

Once finished he called out Vulpix who emerged with a happy and excited "Vulpix, Vul!" Cole quickly brought his hand up to his lips and made a shushing noise until he was sure she got the message. He knelt down and spread the papers across the floor in front of her whispering "I came up with some names I thought you might like but take your pick, you also may choose none because it is your name after all" With that Cole restarted on the mission to organize his room giving the pokemon time to assess all the names he had offered. This was the easiest way to make the 'not falling asleep' thing, into a productive occasion.

The suddenly excited Vulpix scanned the name suggestions and was surprised when her very own name was situated on a skinny strip of paper in between 'Taylor' and 'Cindy'. She padded over and nudged the back of Cole's leg who immediately whipped around excited "picked one already?" he made sure he was still whispering, as his mother could be heard coming up the stairs.

Amber nodded and placed a paw on the paper marked Amber. Cole smiled "sweet! You picked one from the pun selection! You have no idea how happy that makes me. Now is that you're final decision?"

Amber was confused about what made him react so positively, but she was thankful that her own name was one of his 'options'. The Vulpix vigorously nodded yes and Cole's face lit up with visions of the future, where he would call out "go Amber" and people would be a little confused, but then they would see that it's a fire type and they would be like "that's a fitting nickname"

Cole chuckled at his own very specific and quixotic fantasy.

The Vulpix watched her new master travel into his own world in his head. Awkwardly waiting until Cole re-acknowledged that she was in the room with him.

Suddenly a knock on the door startled the two to attention and was closely followed by a concerned voice "Cole, are you alright? Are you talking to yourself?" Julia questioned from behind the locked the door.

"Just fine mom, and yes I was talking to myself about world domination and cookies, sorry was I being loud?" Cole played it off successfully like lying to his mom was nothing.

A soft giggle came from behind the door "Whatever. I'm going to bed Cole, goodnight, but remember don't go to sleep for a while" His mom commanded from the other side of the door.

Cole turned to Vulpix and rolled his eyes "Yeah I got it, I'm cleaning my room. Goodnight" Cole returned to piling up folded clothes from the jumbled closet. He paused, reached for a cardboard box and started placing items that he wanted to keep inside. Those that were going to be thrown away or donated were in a different less organized pile.

Amber leapt onto the comfortable bed, tired after restlessly keeping watch for that whole time over her new master. The tree is very secluded and not many wild Pokémon cross its path so it was genuinely safe, but she was still lucky that no other Pokémon wandered in and caused trouble. Curling up on herself she let sleep swiftly wash over her.

Cole eventually became aware of a soft snoring sound and found Amber asleep on his bed uttering a quiet aww. He ran through some scenarios in his head about what to do about the sleeping Pokémon and began legitimately talking to himself as a feasible option crossed his mind "as long as I keep my door locked from the inside it's safe to keep Amber out of her pokeball, even if I go to sleep"

Cole was energized enough, that he managed to almost pack away the remainder of his entire room before he noticed sun streaming through the windows. He hadn't fallen asleep yet but he was exhausted, after stashing the two empty pokeballs in a nearby box, he returned the still sleeping form of Vulpix to her pokeball deciding not to take the extra risk. After that he placed the pokeball under some clothes in his dresser he hadn't touched yet and flopped onto his bed content with the majority of events that had transpired this past day, well technically two days. Voluntary sleep was going to feel amazing, especially in his own bed.


End file.
